Interesting Facts About Marijuana That You Didn’t Know

Over the years, marijuana and its use have been the topic of debates as it makes its way as a mainstream drug. However, even with all the coverage on the drug, how much do we really know about marijuana?

Read on to find out some interesting facts about marijuana!

1. According to a study, only 9% of people who indulge in marijuana become clinically dependent on it. This is ridiculously low when compared to the cocaine and heroin use statistics.[1]
2. The Mexican slang word for cannabis is the inspiration behind coning the name marijuana. Marijuana as a name for weed is believed to have its roots in the Spanish pronunciation of Mary and Jane. In the U.S., referring to weed as marijuana became popular in the late 1800s. [2]
3. Marijuana is one of the most common illegal drug used in America. Close to 42% percent of Americans have experimented with marijuana at least once in their lifetime.[3]
4. Numerous studies have proven and tested the notion that marijuana is less harmful than both tobacco and alcohol. [4]
5. Much like heavy cigarette smokers, people who frequently smoke marijuana are at risk of respiratory illnesses like bronchitis. [5]
6. Since 2015, the marijuana market remains one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. surpassing the organic food, wine, and beer industry. The mere act of legalizing marijuana in all 50 states could generate at least $7 billion in state and federal tax revenue annually. [6]
7. Since 1975 to date, Alaska has maintained the legality of personal use of marijuana.[7]
8. Every year, over 800,000 Americans are arrested for marijuana-related cases. [8]
9. In some cases, Judaism recognizes and considers medical marijuana as Kosher. [9]
10. In North Korea, marijuana is not categorized as a drug and its use is 100% legal. [10]
11. In the U.S, California was the first state that banned marijuana over a century ago. [11]
12. Reggae legend Bob Marley was buried with his red Gibson guitar, his Bible opened to Psalms 23, and a nice rolled blunt of marijuana. [12]
13. Over 40 years ago, the first online transaction was that of buying a bag of marijuana. Students from Stanford used Arpanet to buy some weed from other students at MIT. [13]
14. According to a report formulated by the U.N., 158.8 million across the globe use marijuana. This statistic translates to over 3.8% of the world’s population. [14]
15. It is twice more likely for men to use marijuana in the U.S than it is for women. [15]
16. In the United States, marijuana use is three times higher than the global average. However, the rate of use is about the same as other Western democracies.[16]
17. The first recording of marijuana use was over 47000 years ago in China. In early 6000 B.C. era, people in China used cannabis seeds as a source of food. [17]
18. The first recorded use of marijuana as a medicinal drug occurred in 2737 B.C. by Chinese emperor Shen Nung. The emperor documented the drug’s effectiveness in treating the pains of rheumatism and gout.[18]
19. Marijuana absorbs nuclear radiation. In 1998, Ukraine’s Institute of Bast Crops planted industrial marijuana to help remove contaminants in the soil near Chernobyl.[19]
20. In 1890, during the temperance movement, it was common for people to substitute alcohol with marijuana. This was because unlike alcohol, marijuana did not give rise to domestic violence. [20]
21. The top marijuana consuming nation is Iceland with 18.3% of its population being marijuana users. [21]
22. The world’s largest legal marijuana farm is located in British Columbia. [22]
23. In the Rastafarian religions, marijuana is considered as one of the holy sacraments. As such, they are legally allowed to be in possession of marijuana in Italy.[23]
24. Canada was the first country to provide medical marijuana to patients in 2003. [24]
25. The first country to legalize the growth, consumption, and selling of marijuana was Uruguay in 2013. [25]
26. In the Netherlands, there are dozens of public facilities where you can bring recreational drugs including marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy to test if they are safe.[26]
27. In 1949, a synthetic version of cannabis named “Dimethylheptylpyran” was created by the U.S. Military. One mg of the strain was seen to produce effects that lasted 3 days. [27]
28. With a 3: 1 ratio, the marijuana dispensaries in Colorado significantly outnumber the Starbucks locations. [28]
29. The U.S. government’s “official expert” on Marijuana from 1938 to 1962 once testified in court, under oath, that he had smoked marijuana and it turned him into a bat.[29]
30. In Bhutan, long before the advent of television, people only ever used marijuana to feed pigs. [30]
31. In 2008, 789 grams of marijuana that was 2,700 years was discovered in a Chinese tomb.[31]
32. In India, it is common for people to consume marijuana in the form of a milkshake. The popular milkshake whose main ingredient is marijuana is commonly called ‘Bhang’.[32]
33. The first arrest for Marijuana possession and selling in the U.S. occurred in Denver, Colorado on October 2, 1937.[33]
34. Out of all the marijuana users, only 1%-5% of them develop psychotic symptoms. [34]
35. Theoretically speaking, in order for a marijuana smoker to die from an overdose, they would need to smoke up close to 1,500 pounds of weed within a time span of 15 minutes. [35]
36. In 1976, after the passing of a state law decriminalizing weed, a prankster changed the landmark Hollywood sign in Los Angeles to read as ‘Hollyweed’. [36]
37. A man with a rare bone cancer gets his marijuana —300 joints at a time, one shipment every 25 days— courtesy of the U.S. federal government.[37]
38. Some of William Shakespeare’s pipes were discovered to have traces of marijuana. [38]
39. While Richard Nixon was Vice President, he once unknowingly carried Louie Armstrong’s bags that contained at least three pounds of marijuana through United States Customs.^[39]
40. The woman who made cannabis brownies famous by baking and distributing them to AIDS patients was actually called Mary Jane.[40]

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797098/

[2] https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/where-did-the-word-marijuana-come-from-anyway-01fb

[3] http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html

[4] https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/new-study-suggests-risks-marijuana-use-have-been-overestimated/

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425753/

[6] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/26/marijuana-industry-fastest-growing_n_6540166.html

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/24/alaska-legalized-weed-39-years-ago-wait-what/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ce6ecf8025d5

[8] http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/10-facts-about-marijuana

[9] https://forward.com/news/124342/from-reform-to-orthodox-jewish-opinions-abound-on/

[10] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nn4ywx/north-korea-is-stoned-all-the-time-which-explains-a-lot

[11] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/11/marijuana-history-united-states_n_3736586.html

[12] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/24/bob-marley-funeral-richard-williams

[13] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/19/online-high-net-drugs-deal

[14] https://www.marijuanamoment.net/un-launches-first-ever-full-review-of-marijuanas-status-under-international-law/

[15] https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/marijuana-news-759/men-more-likely-to-use-marijuana-than-women-study-finds-717314.html

[16] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-scope-marijuana-use-in-united-states

[17] https://www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-timeline.html

[18] https://www.medicaldaily.com/brief-history-medical-cannabis-ancient-anesthesia-modern-dispensary-370344

[19] http://careofhealth.online/index.php/2016/05/25/marijuana-absorbs-nuclear-radiation/

[20] https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery-advocacy/marijuana-education/policy-history

[21] https://herb.co/2017/04/24/countries-consume-weed/

[22] https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-44254741/take-a-look-inside-the-world-s-largest-legal-cannabis-farm

[23] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-marijuana/rasta-pot-smokers-win-legal-leeway-in-italy-idUSL1041616220080710

[24] https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/10/world/canada-to-offer-marijuana-to-medical-patients.html

[25] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-25328656

[26] http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/entries/23353ff7-3417-33e8-b9a6-80f35becff38

[27] https://thesourcenv.com/cannabis-cold-war-chemical-warfare/

[28] http://cannabisnews.com/news/25/thread25864.shtml

[29] http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/media/schaffer1.htm

[30] https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/jun/14/weekend7.weekend2

[31]https://www.thestar.com/business/tech_news/2008/11/27/2700yearold_marijuana_found_in_chinese_tomb.html

[32]http://www.shalusharma.com/bhang/

[33] http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937.html

[34] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/06/390143641/pot-can-trigger-psychotic-symptoms-for-some-but-do-the-effects-last

[35] https://cannabismaven.io/theweedblog/culture/how-much-marijuana-does-it-take-for-someone-to-overdose-1C8KxtV02keLgibkKQlqFA/

[36] http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/27/local/me-finegood27

[37] https://abcnews.go.com/Business/man-sets-marijuana-record-smokes-115000-joints-provided/story?id=9159281

[38] http://time.com/3990305/william-shakespeare-cannabis-marijuana-high/

[39] http://niagarafallsreporter.com/Stories/2014/SEP02/nixon.html

[40] https://culinarylore.com/food-history:who-was-brownie-mary/